P.R. Laws tit. 22, § 1051a
The following terms, wherever they are used or referred to in this chapter, shall have the meaning stated below, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) Creditors agreement.— Shall mean the agreement executed on January 27, 2016 (including annexes, exhibits, and schedules attached thereto), by and among the Authority and various of the principal creditors thereof, as amended or supplemented, whereby certain terms and conditions of the current debt are modified and the Authority commits to (i) implement certain administrative, operational, and governance reform measures; (ii) optimize electric power transmission and distribution; (iii) modernize electric power generation; and (iv) achieve operational savings. Neither the Agreement nor any future amendment thereto or supplement thereof shall be inconsistent with the provisions of the “Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Revitalization Act”. None of the provisions of the creditors” agreement executed prior to the approval of this act shall be understood to be binding upon or create obligations between the Customers or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the creditors of the Corporation and the Authority.
(b) Authority or PREPA.— Shall mean the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, a corporate entity created by virtue of §§ 191 et seq. of this title, which, according to its statute, it is currently an electric power generation, transmission, and distribution company.
(c) Agency or public instrumentality.— Shall mean any body, entity, or corporation of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(d) Bonds.— Shall mean the bonds, term bonds, convertible bonds, obligations, notes, interim bonds, receipts, certificates, or other evidence of indebtedness or obligations that PREPA is authorized to issue, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(e) Bondholder.— Shall mean any bond or outstanding bond, registered in his/her name or unregistered, or the owner, according to the register, of any bond or outstanding bond that at the time are registered in the name of a person other than the bearer.
(f) Interconnection charge.— Shall mean the fair and reasonable amount of money that a person shall pay to PREPA for the right to connect his/her facility to Puerto Rico’s electric power grid.
(g) Renewable energy portfolio.— Shall mean the mandatory percent of sustainable or alternative renewable energy required in Puerto Rico, as provided in §§ 8121 et seq. of Title 12, known as the “Public Policy on Energy Diversification by Means of Sustainable and Alternative Renewable Energy in Puerto Rico Act”.
(h) Certified.— Shall mean every electric power service company that has been evaluated and authorized by the Energy Commission.
(i) Customer or consumer.— Shall mean any natural or juridical person that consumes or uses electric power or energy services.
(j) Commission or Energy Commission.— Shall mean the Puerto Rico Energy Commission (PREC), a specialized independent entity created by virtue of this chapter, in charge of regulating, overseeing, and enforcing the public policy on energy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(k) Electric Power Company or Electric Power Service Company.— Shall mean any natural or juridical person or entity engaged in the generation, billing, or resale of electric power. In the case of PREPA, it shall also include transmission and distribution.
(l) Electric power generation company.— Shall mean any natural or juridical person engaged in the production or generation of electric power in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This term shall include co-generators already established in Puerto Rico that supply energy to PREPA through a Power Purchase Agreement, and renewable energy producers.
(m) Conservation.— Shall mean any reduction in electric power consumption resulting from changes in the customer’s energy consumption patterns.
(n) Energy savings performance contracts.— Shall mean a contract between a governmental unit and a Qualified Energy Service Provider, as defined in §§ 8961 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Energy Savings Performance Contract Act”, for the evaluation, recommendation, and implementation of one or more energy conservation and savings measures, subject to the terms of §§ 8961 et seq. of Title 3.
(o) Power Purchase Agreement or PPA.— Shall mean any agreement or contract approved by the Commission whereby an electric power generation company is bound to sell electric power to another natural or juridical person, and such other person is, in turn, bound to acquire said electric power at a just and reasonable rate.
(p) Peak demand.— Shall mean the maximum electric power load received by the electrical system during a specific time of the day.
(q) U.S. Department of Energy.— Shall mean the Federal agency created by the “Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977,” Public Law 95-91 approved on August 4, 1977.
(r) Electric power distribution.— Shall mean the delivery of electric power from one energy substation to any customer or consumer through networks, lines, transformers, and any other infrastructure needed to transport the same throughout the Island.
(s) Energy efficiency.— Shall mean changes in energy use attributable to substituting appliances and equipment, or the most efficient operation of existing equipment and materials.
(t) Thermal efficiency or heat rate.— Shall mean the amount of energy needed or used by an electric power plant or facility to generate one (1) kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity, which may vary depending of the fuel used.
(u) Electricity bill.— Shall mean the invoice sent every month to customers or consumers stating in detail all components, charges or rates that are part of the total amount that every customer or consumer must pay for using electricity. Such bill may be sent by regular mail or electronic mail, or accessed by the customer on the Internet.
(v) FERC.— Shall mean the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It was created by the “Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977,” Public Law 95-91 approved on August 4, 1977, charged with regulating, overseeing, and investigating energy-related issues at the Federal level.
(w) Renewable energy sources.— Shall have the same meaning as the term “green energy,” defined §§ 8121 et seq. of Title 12, or any successor law.
(x) Electric power generation.— Shall mean the production of electric power using oil and/or its byproducts, natural gas, renewable energy sources, or any other electric power production method.
(y) Distributed generator or Independent producer.— Shall mean any natural or juridical person that owns an electric power generation facility in Puerto Rico for use primarily by such person and that may provide any electric power generated in excess to PREPA.
(z) Essential public service facilities.— Shall mean health facilities, police and armed forces stations, fire stations, emergency management offices, prisons, waste water supply and treatment facilities, public educational institutions owned or used by the government and any other facility, whether owned or used by the government, designated by the Energy Commission as an “Essential Public Service Facility” by regulations.
(aa) Interconnection or Electric interconnection.— Shall mean the connection of power plants and electric power generation companies into the same electric power transmission and distribution network.
(bb) Environmental Quality Board.— Shall mean the government entity created by virtue of §§ 8101 et seq. of Title 12, or any successor law.
(cc) Modernization.— Shall mean projects for the development of new generation plants or the replacement of existing plants in accordance with the Integrated Resource Plan of the Authority.
(dd) Commonwealth Energy Public Policy Office or CEPPO.— Shall mean the entity created by virtue of this chapter, in charge of developing and promulgating the public policy on energy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(ee) Independent Consumer Protection Office or ICPO.— Shall mean the entity created by virtue of this chapter, to assist and represent electric power service customers of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(ff) Citizen participation.— Shall mean the various mechanisms that allow customers of PREPA and electric power generation companies certified in Puerto Rico to have a forum to express their concerns, make suggestions, and be included in the decision-making processes. These mechanisms shall include, but not be limited to, the request and receipt of comments, photographs, and other documents from the public, administrative meetings of PREPA where customer focus groups participate, regional meetings open to PREPA’s customers in such region, public hearings, and the establishment of vehicles that enable participation by electronic means.
(gg) Person.— Shall mean any natural or juridical person created, organized, or existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States of America, any state of the union, or any foreign state or country.
(hh) Integrated resource plan or IRP.— Shall mean a plan that considers all reasonable resources to satisfy the demand for electric power services during a specific period of time, including those related to the offering of electric power, whether existing, traditional, and/or new resources, and those related to energy demand, such as energy conservation and efficiency or demand response and localized energy generation by the customer. Every integrated resource plan shall be subject to the rules established by the Commission and approved by the same. Every plan shall be devised with broad participation from citizens and other interested groups.
(ii) Energy Relief Plan.— Shall mean the short-term plan that PREPA shall draft and submit in accordance with the provisions of § 196c of this title, and section 2.9 of this Act.
(jj) Power plant.— Shall mean any electric power generation plant of an electric power company, including any plant operated, leased, licensed, used, and/or controlled by, for, or in relation to the generation of electric power in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(ll) Energy producer.— Shall mean any natural or juridical person that owns an electric power production facility in Puerto Rico that is an eligible business in accordance with to the provisions of §§ 10641 et seq. of Title 13.
(mm) Electric power grid.— Shall mean the electric power transmission and distribution infrastructure of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico which is operated, supported, and administered by PREPA.
(nn) Federal environmental regulations.— Shall mean the rules and regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
(oo) Electric power service or energy service.— Shall mean any service provided by an electric power company certified in Puerto Rico to a customer.
(pp) Electrical system.— Shall mean the electric power generation, transmission, and distribution system.
(qq) Wheeling rate.— Shall mean a just and reasonable amount of money that PREPA may charge to a power producer for using its transmission and distribution facilities for wheeling and for the right to interconnect the electrical power generation facility of such power producer to the electric power grid of Puerto Rico, in accordance with the provisions of §§ 10641 et seq. of Title 13.
(rr) Electricity rate.— Shall mean any payment, charge, duty, fee, usage charge, rent or schedule collected by any electric power company for any service or product offered to the public.
(ss) Energy transmission.— Shall mean moving electric power from one power plant or facility to a power substation through networks, lines, transformers, and any other infrastructure necessary to transport the same at voltage levels higher than 13.2 kV throughout the Island.
(tt) Wheeling.— Shall mean the transmission of electricity from one system to another through Puerto Rico’s electric power grid, according to the wheeling provisions of §§ 10641 et seq. of Title 13, known as the “Economic Incentives Act for the Development of Puerto Rico”.
(uu) “U.S. Energy Information Administration.— Shall mean the government agency under the U.S. Department of Energy, in charge of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information related to the production of energy from oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear and renewable sources, among others, to promote sound policymaking on the management of these resources, markets, and its impact on the development of the economy.
History —May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 1.3; Feb. 16, 2016, No. 4, § 3.